Survival of the Fittest
by danielle4590
Summary: This is kind of a crossover between The Walking Dead and Iron Man/Captain America. It was a dream I had and it's easier if I just use those characters. I suppose this could be some sort of AU? The name is kind of crappy, but I refer to Darwin's Theory, so why not?
1. Chapter 1

_**This is kind of a crossover between The Walking Dead and Iron Man/Captain America. It was a dream I had and it's easier if I just use those characters. I suppose this could be some sort of AU? **_

**Chapter One **

You see, things change. People change. There's no stopping it. You've just got to get used to it. Like Darwin's Theory. Survival of the fittest, adapt or die. Like my Mother always said to me as a little girl, we have all got to do things we don't want to do.

The name is Maria Carbonell, I have a Son, Anthony, and his Father runs this place. His name is Phillip Blake. A real bastard. No one likes him, well, except Anthony. But he is only five, he doesn't know any different. The reason I didn't say Phillip was my Husband is because... He's not. I don't love him. He doesn't love me, or at least I think he doesn't. He pretends he does, and I do too. He knows I don't love him, everyone does. I would do anything to get away from him. But like I said, he runs the place, and what he says goes, which means I am the unlucky woman he chose to be his. Really, we're all his. But I am specifically _his; _if any other man touched me they'd be dead at by noon. He takes the role of protective much too far.

Another thing I should mention, which would explain why all this shit is going down, is that society is fucked. It was fucked before, but now it is properly fucked. Like, never-going-to-return-to-normal fucked. Whatever normal was anyway. And you're probably going to roll your eyes at this; I put my hands up that I would too, but its reality now. This is a tale of a zombie apocalypse.

You sighed, didn't you? Yeah, I heard you, don't deny it. If someone told me a couple of years ago I would be living like this, I'd tell them to run back off to the bar and drink themselves in to a slumber. Stupid, huh?

But let me finish explaining, it has been like this for a year now. Nobody is knows for sure what caused this infestation; there are rumours of course, but no definite proof. But one thing we all agree on is, it's the Government's fault. But isn't everything nowadays?

So how is Phillip in the position he is in now you ask? Well, back to Darwin's Theory, Phillip is one smart guy, and funnily enough will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. In this case, it is to control everything. And given about two thirds of the World's population has been turned over to the other side, I think he has got a pretty good chance of getting there.

Instead of using winning speeches and trustworthy tactics like previous Prime Minister's and President's have done in the past, Phillip uses fear to get through to people. He does occasionally give the impressive speech every now and again, but the real reason anyone does what he says is because they're scared of what he'll do if they don't.

Phillip has done unspeakable things, things I wish to not recall. Things I pray to God our Son Anthony had not ever witnessed. But what's done has been done, and Phillip has got as he wished.

We live in a small community, about a hundred people maybe? I am not entirely sure. If you want facts and figures, you'd have to pay a visit to Phillip's _assistant, _Milton Greene. The man has the face of a small field mouse and the strength of a blade of grass, but he's smart, and can remember things. He's a brilliant organizer and is the only one who seems to ever know the actual date or where we are on the map. Hence the reason a rodent like him has managed to survive this long, because he's useful.

That's another reason the people here fear Phillip, because anyone un-useful, he disposes of. I use the term _disposes _loosely. What I really mean is he'll either convince them to leave with the false hope of living for more than a week out there, or his deals with them himself. 'Why carry around dead weight?' he always says. The sorts of people he _disposes _of would be people in wheelchairs or terminal illnesses. Indeed, it sickens me to be in his very presence, but there is nothing any of us can do about it. And believe me we've tried.

The only good thing about Phillip is he keeps his promises. He keeps us safe and with food, he keeps the threat of other groups and possible wars away. And for that we must all be grateful, I undoubtedly am. The main reason I have stayed so long is for my Son, he doesn't comprehend what is going on in the World at the moment and won't until he comes of age. But I wouldn't be able to keep him safe out there. I do indeed know how to use a gun, but I don't have a mind like there's. Before all of this, when everything was _normal, _I was a simple Broadway actress. Hardly anything exciting or anything to be remembered for, but it paid the bills and meant I got to travel a lot which I always liked. Anthony liked it too occasionally. He's a brilliant young boy, the smartest for his age. Sadly, it is all from Phillip. I'm no one special. If it wasn't for Phillip or my Son, I doubt I'd still be living and breathing as I am now.

So that is how it is, for as long as my natural life shall grant me, I must remain being Phillip Blake's pretty little wife, as he refers to me, and pretend everything is just dandy.

They say you should fear the dead, well, I can tell you first hand the living aren't much greater either.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Where you going?"

"To see Milton... Do you think he'll have any spare calendars?"

"I don't know. Why do you want one?"

"I think it may be Anthony's birthday soon."

"So?"

"Well, I thought it might be nice if he at least got something for his birthday. He's going to be turning six. It may not be anything like before, but it's something."

"Don't see the point."

"I do, now do you have a problem with me doing it?"

"No, but don't let the others get word of it. I don't want lots of celebrations suddenly going off. Could attract the wrong sort of guests."

"If you wish."

"Wait, before you go", Phillip beckoned, gesturing for Maria to come over to him. She made her way over to his chair, her hands fumbling together in front of her stomach. Phillip smirked and stood up from the scruffy armchair he was in before.

"Yes?" Maria muttered, looking up at the tall, sandy haired man. Instead of saying anything else, Phillip rushed in to push a kiss against Maria's lips. On instinct, she pulled away, but regretted it instantly. A low growl rose from Phillip's throat.

"Sorry", She then whispered, her eyes looking down to the side of her. Dismissing her apology, Phillip grabbed her jaw strongly, enough for her to whimper and be forced to look up in to his eyes. Those dark blue hues of his, so stern and angry looking, enough to scare anybody. He stared at her for a moment, as if enjoying the terror present in her own eyes. Then, once he was satisfied he had made his point, Phillip craned his neck and pushed another kiss against her mouth. This time Maria had no choice but to return it. The kiss lingered for a few seconds, until she yelped again because of his hard grip on her cheeks. Phillip released her face, and she stumbled back a few paces, rubbing at her jaw as she did so.

"You can go now", Phillip said, walking off in to another room. A ragged breath escaped Maria's lips as she tried to regain her composure.

You'd think she'd be used to this now, given she has had to put up with him for the past few years. But each time it was still as horrible as ever. And just a small peck like that wasn't the worst of it.

Maria left the house quickly, holding back any signs on unsettlement for fear someone will see and most likely ask. Although everybody knew the sorts of things that went on in Phillip's house, it didn't mean people wouldn't gossip.

A better way to explain how things go around here would be that Phillip is like the King, the man in charge. And then Maria would be the equivalent to his Queen. Everybody was kind to her, not just because they were scared of Phillip, but also because they were all in the same boat. They didn't want to be here, but had no other choice.

She made her way down a few streets until she reached Milton's little place.

There were only about thirty buildings here in this little community, which mean nearly everyone shared a house with someone else. But there was still plenty of room. The only people who had their own house, was of course Phillip and his family. Nobody questioned his orders.

"Morning, Danny. Is Milton here?" Maria asked as she walked in to the building.

"Yeah, out back as usual", The young man replied before returning to the out dated magazine he was reading.

"Thanks", Maria muttered as she headed through the house. In this home, resided Milton, Danny and another man she could not remember the name of. When people arrived here, they were sent to a house which suited other people of their age and gender, or maybe even their background. A bit like school really. But residents were welcome to move if they wished, with consent of Phillip of course.

Maria walked out in to the garden to see the frail man up a ladder against the fences at the rear of the perimeter, in his hands was a small telescope.

"Milton?" She called as she walked over to him. Milton's home was near the outskirts of the community, and most of the time he could be found as he is now. Watching the walking dead as they stumble aimlessly around anywhere. Phillip insists that they allow a dozen or two to remain walking around the premises, as a sort of guarding system. But if it gets too much he'll go pick off a few himself.

"What can I do for you, Miss Carbonell?" Milton's muffled voice echoed.

"I was wondering if you had a spare calendar" Maria asked, standing a few feet away from the ladder.

"Why? What is he planning?" Milton questioned.

"It's not for him, I wanted one."

"Okay, well why do you want one?" He asked again as he steadily climbed down the ladder.

"You're not the only one who'd like to know what year it might even be", Maria replied bluntly.

"Alright, alright, yeah, I've got a spare. Wait here and I'll go get it", Milton said, walking off in to the little house.

Maria sighed to herself, the only reason Milton was doing as she requested so promptly was because of Phillip. Of course she hated that he was doing it out of fear rather than a kind gesture, but at least it meant she could get things done.

Within minutes, Milton returned back out of the door, in his hands a little notepad.

"I've already filled in most of the days for you, but you'll have to continue it yourself when need be", He explained, handing it over.

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

"No problem", He muttered, heading back towards the ladder.

"Hey, uh, how's it looking out there?" Maria asked him hesitantly.

"There's about sixteen walkers out here now. A few more appearing each hour... You should probably let him know."

"Okay, I'll tell him... Thank you again."

"Anytime, Miss Carbonell."

As she walked back to Phillip's and hers house, she had her head down in the notepad. Milton's handwriting was rather scruffy and childlike, but still readable. It turns out it was the year 2016, which meant they had been living like this for three years now, and it was Christmas a few months ago. It only felt like it was about a week ago. And if Milton's dates were correct, it meant Anthony's birthday was last week. Well, shit. It still meant everybody had Phillip's birthday to look forward to later this year. It is the only time he will allow anybody to get drunk, even though almost every night he was on the borderlines of it.

If Maria didn't have a Son to worry about, she probably would be too.

She trudged up the stairs of their building. The way Phillip had it set out was so that they would live in the upstairs, and he could have his meetings and manly gatherings downstairs. Although he enforced strict rules that no one went upstairs except for Anthony and Maria, and of course him.

"Phillip? I'm back", Maria called through their little makeshift apartment.

"I'm in 'ere!" She heard him shout back. Sounded like it came from the bedroom, brilliant, what could he be getting up to in there?

"Hey, Milton told me to let you know that you and a couple of guys should probably go out and neaten up the number of walkers outside", Maria informed the other man as she stood in the doorway. Phillip was stood in front of the window, staring out of it blankly.

"Alright, I'll assemble some men this afternoon", He replied, his voice monotone.

"Phillip, are you okay?" She asked, remaining stood in the doorway.

"I myself am fine. But I received some disturbing news while you were gone."

"Disturbing? What do you mean?" Jeez, she wasn't expecting that in the space of twenty minutes during her absence.

"Rich and Jim were out on duty this morning."

"And?"

"They saw a couple of men and a woman watching our neighbourhood from afar... Rich shot at them, killed one of the guys. But the other two escaped", Phillip explained, his voice as cold as ice.

"Oh God... What did they do with the other guy? The man they shot?"

"Left him. The walkers got there before we could ever have."

"So... So, what are we going to do?"

"_We _are not going to do anything... Tomorrow I am sending out a search party. If it was just the three of them, they wouldn't have sat there so long. There must be another group nearby, and I plan to find them", He continued to explain. Once he had finished speaking, he turned slightly to look at Maria, to see how she was reacting to this.

"When you find them... What are you going to do then?"

"Most likely exterminate them." How smoothly Phillip delivered that line made Maria's lower lip tremble.

"But... But what if they're nice people? They could help us?"

"We don't need any help. Our community is perfectly fine as it is", He said, taking a step towards her.

"I know winter has just finished, and we only had a few deaths. But that was still hard! What about next winter?" Maria rushed out of her mouth, too many thoughts racing through her mind.

"Once they're dealt with. We are free to take what we need."

"How are you so sure your little plan here will work? They might have Doctors in their group and you're willing to just... Just kill them all without any talking in-between?"

"Jesus, Maria! Keep your voice down!"

"But this... You, you can't just do that!"

Then as unpredictable as snow in August, Phillip's hand smacked swiftly across Maria's cheek. The force of the hit hard enough to push her in to the wall of the doorway. She whimpered and covered the stinging redness with one of her hands, the other pressed against the doorway to balance herself. Tears rushed in to her eyes and she turned to try and storm out of the building, but Phillip caught her free hand and yanked her back towards him, her slender body colliding in to his better built one. He wrapped one arm around her waist and the other around her neck, his breath cold against her neck.

"Are you doubting my decisions, Maria?" Phillip whispered harshly in to her ear.

"Not at all, Dear. My apologies", She croaked.

"Then what are you worried about?"

"Just... Just your safety, I would hate for you to get hurt out there."

"Oh, Honey, you don't need to worry about me", He chuckled lowly, planting a kiss to her neck. The roughness of his cheeks scratched against her skin.

After a few more seconds, which felt like a lifetime to Maria, he released his grip around her and scowled, walking off in to the next room. Maria fell to her knees, coughing and crying all at the same time. She remained knelt there for a while, her back arched and forehead pressed to the cool wooden floorboards.

"Fucking bastard", Maria muttered under her breath as she slowly attempted to stand up. Her cheek still stung and throat still felt constricted.

She stumbled in to the bathroom, occasionally coughing, and locked the door behind her. She filled the sink with water and moistened a flannel, straight away trying to wash away any signs of Phillip's actions.

There was no point in her trying to hide it though, the people here knew what when on in this household. Maria was almost like a warning to everybody on what could happen to you if you crossed the line with Phillip.

She mostly wanted to hide the bruises from Anthony. He may be six now, but he is an intelligent young boy and is starting to notice the scars upon her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"Sir? Sir!" A man's voice called from the bottom of the stairs of Phillip's building.

"Jesus Christ, what does he want?" Phillip muttered as he stood from the dinner table.

Maria remained quiet, her eyes still bloodshot from her crying earlier that day. But Anthony sat up alert and watched as his Father left.

"Mummy."

"Yes, Dear?"

"Where is Daddy going?" The little voice asked.

"To speak with one of his men."

"Why?"

"I don't know, Honey."

The boy then went quiet after that. He could see his Mother was upset, he was used to seeing this by now. Instead of speaking any more, they both continued to eat their homemade soup.

"Bloody Hell", Phillip growled as he returned ten minutes later.

"What's wrong?" Maria asked shyly.

"After the guys cleared some of the walkers this afternoon, they went to look at the body Rich shot down earlier."

"What did they find?"

"The guy, what was left of him, had dog tags on around his neck... Sergeant James Barnes."

"He was a Soldier?"

"Yeah, a good one to by the looks of that sniper he was carrying."

"So what is the problem?"

"The problem is, if this group had one Soldier in it, it's possible they may have more. Snipers even if this Sergeant was one."

The room fell silent. Anthony wasn't really paying attention to his parent's conversation, but he still knew when to keep things to himself.

"What are you going do to?" Maria finally asked.

"I'll have to look for them, won't I? Tomorrow, a group of guys and I will be going out. Searching an eight mile radius around the camp. If they are there, we'll set a surprise attack on them the following day."

"Okay, Dear. Is there anything I can do to help?" She hated herself for not disagreeing, trying to change his mind. But Anthony was there, and the last thing she'd want was to earn another slap while in front of her Son.

"No... Just make sure none of the others get panicked. I don't want no complaints, alright?"

"Of course."

"You coming to bed?" Phillip grumbled from the doorway of their bedroom.

"Soon, I just want to check on Anthony", Maria replied as she dried the last of the dishes.

"What does he need checking for?"

"He's six, I just want to make sure he's gone to sleep alright."

"Kid needs to learn how to man up", He said before disappearing in to the darkened room.

Maria's jaw tightened as she switched the few lights off around the kitchen and blew out most of the candles. She poked her head around Anthony's bedroom door, and small candle powered lamp besides his bed lit up his peaceful sleeping face. She smiled to herself and sighed as she then made her way to her own sleeping quarters.

She closed the door behind her, shut the curtains and changed quickly in to a ragged night gown she'd found months ago. Phillip was slouched against the headboard of the bed, both arms folded behind his head as he watched her closely.

Maria crawled on to her side of the bed, sitting on top of the duvet, her gaze lowered.

"Why so miserable this evening?" He muttered.

"Oh... Nothing important. I'm fine, really. Sorry."

"Are you sure?"He then asked, his face almost soft and sincere for a second.

"Of course."

"Alright, well... Come 'ere then."

She looked up at him, her eyes wide and glassy. This was starting to become a weekly thing for them now. Maria crawled over to him, straddling his hips so that her knees knelt either side of him. He grinned and pulled her face down to his for a forceful kiss. Her eyes scrunched together, the taste of wine present in his mouth. One of Phillip's hands remained on his chin while the other rested on her waist and trailed upwards, lifting Maria's nightgown with it until the soft fabric was scrunched up around her shoulders.


End file.
